The conflicts were more complex than a simple Nizari vs Seljuk one. Even the Ismailis themselves were not unified; e.g. the Ismailis in Isfahan did not recognize the authority of Hassan-i Sabbah in Alamut. Sometimes the actual anti-Ismailism came from the local Sunni population rather than the Seljuk government, such as the massacre of the Ismailis in Isfahan in 1101. In the Seljuk dynastic conflicts, all sides were relying on Ismaili soldiers, and some Seljuk elites are known to be Ismaili converts (e.g.
Iranshah ibn Turanshah) or at least to have Nizari sympathies at times (e.g.
Barkiyaruq and
Ridwan ibn Tutush).[1]
Unlike the Fatimids who mostly produced learned scholars, the Nizaris of Alamut were mostly preoccupied with survival in their extremely hostile environment, and naturally produced, or acquired the alliance of, good military leaders. Many of these commanders are both military leaders and religious preachers (da'i) at the same time.[2]
^The Nizaris often infiltrated into the Seljuk military; Symposium, Comité international d'études pré-ottomanes et ottomanes (1998). Essays on Ottoman civilization. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Oriental Institute. p. 176.
^Gibb, N. A. R., Editor (1932), The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades. Extracted and translated from the Chronicle of ibn al-Qalānisi, Luzac & Company, London, pp.174-177, 179-180, 187-191
^Hanne, Eric J. (2007). Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 142.
ISBN978-0-8386-4113-2.
The conflicts were more complex than a simple Nizari vs Seljuk one. Even the Ismailis themselves were not unified; e.g. the Ismailis in Isfahan did not recognize the authority of Hassan-i Sabbah in Alamut. Sometimes the actual anti-Ismailism came from the local Sunni population rather than the Seljuk government, such as the massacre of the Ismailis in Isfahan in 1101. In the Seljuk dynastic conflicts, all sides were relying on Ismaili soldiers, and some Seljuk elites are known to be Ismaili converts (e.g.
Iranshah ibn Turanshah) or at least to have Nizari sympathies at times (e.g.
Barkiyaruq and
Ridwan ibn Tutush).[1]
Unlike the Fatimids who mostly produced learned scholars, the Nizaris of Alamut were mostly preoccupied with survival in their extremely hostile environment, and naturally produced, or acquired the alliance of, good military leaders. Many of these commanders are both military leaders and religious preachers (da'i) at the same time.[2]
^The Nizaris often infiltrated into the Seljuk military; Symposium, Comité international d'études pré-ottomanes et ottomanes (1998). Essays on Ottoman civilization. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Oriental Institute. p. 176.
^Gibb, N. A. R., Editor (1932), The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades. Extracted and translated from the Chronicle of ibn al-Qalānisi, Luzac & Company, London, pp.174-177, 179-180, 187-191
^Hanne, Eric J. (2007). Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 142.
ISBN978-0-8386-4113-2.